Find-A-Friend Friday: Meet Kim

Is it still Friday? Ack, I’m sorry to be so slow to get this posted. I was away from my computer today and wasn’t able to get enough signal on my “smart” phone to get this post up and running. Luckily, Kim is family, so she’ll have to forgive me.

Kim is really great person, and someone I’m happy to introduce you to. She has a lot of amazing skills and talents, most of which fall into categories of things I’m really not good at, so that makes me really admire what she’s able to accomplish. Anyway, I’ll let her tell you more about herself. Meet Kim:

Introduction

Hello my name is Kim. I’m 32 years old. I’ve been married almost 12 years now…and Stephanie has known my husband longer than I have because they are cousins. Does that make us cousins-in-law?! Anyways, we have 3 beautiful little girls: Kaiya- age 8 (shy & reserved), Emiko- age 5 (loud & dramatic), and Mina- age 3 (stubborn & independent). We have been living overseas in Perth, Australia since January 2010. Being overseas is a great, unique experience- I highly recommend it! It makes me so much more appreciative of the freedom & luxuries of America…I really miss college football, drive-thru banking, garbage disposals, thick milkshakes…but I digress.

I lived in Pennsylvania, Washington, and Virginia growing up. I’m the oldest of 4 kids- 2 girls, 2 boys. I went to school at BYU and after changing my major several times finally settled on social work. After graduating with my master’s degree I worked for 4 years as a clinical social worker in a local mental health agency- doing individual, group, couple/family therapy. It was a tough job. I loved it. After my husband graduated law school we moved to Houston. (I miss Texas.) By then I had just given birth to our 2nd baby and I was ready to start my journey as a stay-at-home mom. It’s a tough job. I love it.

What’s your favorite part of motherhood?

Yikes, I really don’t have a favorite part- I love it all. My youngest had a bout of diarrhea this week and when she couldn’t make it to the toilet in time…well, I ended up in the shower with her scrubbing it all off. Obviously I was thinking “ugh this is disgusting- breathe through the mouth.” And then I remember thinking, “isn’t it amazing how much I love this little girl that I’m willing to do this?!” I love the unconditional love I have for my children (does that make sense?)- through the good times and the crappy (literally) times…the love doesn’t ever change.

What part of motherhood would you subcontract out if you could?

If you would’ve asked me this even just a few months ago I would have said potty training. Cleaning up after accidents, cleaning poop out of the little potty- it’s disgusting and I hate it. But now that my youngest is toilet trained…definitely the cooking! I hate cooking. But someone has to feed the kids (my hubby can fend for himself) and so I cook. Don’t worry I let the hubby eat too. Believe me, I’ve tried to cooking. I mean, I love eating…and you would think that translate into a love of cooking. No. It doesn’t.

Name 2 or 3 items on your “bucket list.”

Live somewhere in the UK or Europe, swim with whalesharks, learn to play another instrument (I already play the piano), and go on an African safari with my family.

Brag for a minute. Do it. What are a few things that you’re pretty good at?

I’m pretty smart. I was the BYU School of Social Work valedictorian the year I graduated with my bachelor degree. Then I graduated w/my master’s degree at age 22 with a 4.0 GPA. I’m also friendly and outgoing. We have friends over often and invite new families over for dinner several times a month. Since moving to our current ward, I’ve made a conscious effort to invite every new family over to our home to welcome them. Oh, and I’m really good at celebrating non-holidays…like National Frozen Food Day, National Root Beer Float Day, half-birthdays, un-birthdays, and our made up family holiday- Dibb Saltwater Crocodile Day.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” Marianne Williamson (Nelson Mandela also used this quote in his inaugural speech)

I love it- it’s so powerful. It reminds me of my infinite worth & that I have a great work to accomplish on this earth.

Tell us some of your best mom-tricks (things you’ve figured out that work well for you).

When your kids are going through that “why” stage- asking all of those questions that you don’t have an answer to- I find that replying “because Heavenly Father made it that way” works really well.

What’s something you don’t usually want people to know about you, but that they need to know if they’re going to be your friend?

I greatly dislike when people are late…especially when I’m normally on time.

Friends are great for venting. What’s been frustrating you lately?

Moths. Seriously. They have invaded my bedroom. We (when I say we, I mean my husband) killed 7 just the other night. I realize moths are harmless but I swear these guys have superhero strength. We flushed one down the toilet and it swam back up and I found it flying around my toilet when I lifted the toilet seat up a few minutes later. They always start flying around when I’m about to fall asleep (are moths nocturnal?) and b/c these moths are big I can easily hear them buzzing around, running into my walls (they’re strong, but still stupid). Anyways, I want these moths gone. Gone, I say!

What parts of your testimony are you the most sure of?

I know that my Heavenly Father knows me and is mindful of my needs/wants. It doesn’t matter what the world thinks, if it’s important to me then it’s important to Him…and He will always be there. I also have a strong testimony of families- we have families so that we can support one another. Lately when someone in our family has been struggling we’ve made an effort to pray as a family for that person. It is amazing how unified our family has become just by simply praying for each other.

Let’s say you’re dying in your sleep tonight. What would you eat for your last meal?

Probably food I crave that I can’t find here: a yummy bagel w/cream cheese or a Tex-mex meal washed down with some diet root beer…then Samoa Girl Scout cookies for dessert.

Give your best advice to a newlywed or expectant mom.

Newlywed: The adage “don’t go to bed angry” is hogwash. I think the later you stay up arguing, the more likely you are to say things you’ll regret b/c your brain is turning to mush from lack of sleep. Most of the time I go to bed angry I wake up the next morning realizing it’s really not that big of a deal and we can work out a solution really quickly. And sometimes I wake up not even remembering why I was mad (yeah, this happens more than I’d like to admit).

What’s something unexpected in your life, and how have you dealt with it?

Moving to Australia was very unexpected. I’m generally an optimistic person but I got into quite a funk the first 6 months of living in Australia. I wasn’t depressed but was more in that feeling-sorry-for-myself mood. I won’t go into all the details of why…but my husband finally pointed out that I was focusing on all of the bad things about living in Australia rather than the good. I had to choose to look for the good. So with a little help from Heavenly Father and an attitude adjustment I finally started enjoying life here.

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6 thoughts on “Find-A-Friend Friday: Meet Kim”

Hi Kim! I’m laughing at your description of moths, because they are my least favorite! It made me shudder just reading about them. Spiders in the bathtub? No big deal. But moths in the bedroom and i’m sleeping with the covers over my head.

Hey–We’re sisters in social work! I’ll bet we know some of the same people. My Master’s is from the U but I’ve worked with some of professors at BYU on various international projects. You have a beautiful family (minus the moths).

I have loved reading your find a friend blogs. What amazing women there are out there! It has been fun to read and I come by each week. Thank you so much Steph with the talks you suggested for my talk this Sunday.

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Nice to meet you.

I'm Stephanie, mother to three little whirlwinds. Moms are awesome. And we need each other, so drop by at your leisure. Hope to make you laugh, think, and get back to mothering with a renewed sense of purpose.
You can email me anytime at dd.stephanie [at] gmail [dot] com

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